


i don't believe the hype

by PitchonthePitch



Series: AUgust Soulmate AU's [13]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Aromantic Agatha Wellbelove, Colors, Gen, Heteronormativity, Penelope Bunce is a Good Friend, Post-Watford (Simon Snow), he didn't go to Watford, implied/referenced arophobia, no baz in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 22:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20237893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitchonthePitch/pseuds/PitchonthePitch
Summary: Color - You can see every color except the color of your soulmate’s eyes until you meet them.Penny and Agatha lose Simon at a fair.  When Agatha gives a description of him to someone, Penny learns that Agatha lied when she told her she couldn't see the color blue.  But why would Agatha lie?





	i don't believe the hype

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings can be found at the end!

Simon, Penny, and Agatha were at a fair. Their days at Watford were over, and they were finally allowed to spend their summers together. Penny had challenged Agatha to a game of Whack-a-Mole and somehow lost. She was arguing about the inherent unfairness of carnival games when she realized something. “Did we lose Simon?”

Agatha was too busy admiring the stuffed bear she’d won herself to notice. “He’s probably off fighting a troll, or buying cotton candy. You know Simon. He’s always wandering off somewhere, to do something.”

“Probably,” Penny said. “Who knows, maybe he’s gone off and found his soulmate.” She started to chew the inside of her lip, a nervous habit. She didn’t like when she didn’t know where Simon was. He had a habit of getting into trouble when he was on his own.

Agatha must have noticed her nerves because she started reassuring her. “I’m sure he’s fine. Unless he’s been kidnapped by the Humdrum, or something.”

They shared a look. Quickly, they started asking around to find out if anyone had seen Simon.

Agatha approached a woman sitting at one of the picnic tables with a baby stroller next to her. “Excuse me,” she said, “have you seen a boy around our age with blond hair and blue eyes? He’s wearing jeans and this really ugly blue shirt with a hole in the side.”

Penny frowned. “How do you know his shirt is blue?” Years ago, Agatha had told Penny that blue was the color of her soulmate’s eyes. She couldn’t see blue, just like Penny couldn’t see brown and Simon couldn’t see grey.

Agatha hesitated. The pause lasted a mere fraction of a second, but Penny caught it nonetheless. “He told me.”

Penny raised a brow at her. “You’re saying you had a conversation about _fashion…_ with Simon Snow?”

“Yes.” Agatha’s mouth was set in a thin line.

Penny merely shrugged. “Okay.” She knew better than to point out the obvious lie. Agatha would open up to her when she was ready.

They started walking through the fair, hoping to see Simon somewhere in the crowd of people. Penny texted him, but he didn’t answer. She called him, and the call went straight to voicemail. She was getting seriously worried.

She almost didn’t notice when Agatha next spoke. “I see every color.”

“What do you mean?” Penny quickly tried connecting the dots. “Have you met your soulmate?” she asked, with some excitement. Penny was still waiting on her own soulmate, the git. She was getting really sick of living in a world where she couldn’t see the color brown. She couldn’t see the color of the trees outside her apartment, or the coffee she had every morning, or the chocolate she got in her stocking on Christmas. So many of the best, most comforting things in the world were brown. She always felt like she was missing out.

“No,” Agatha said, “I haven’t met my soulmate… because I don’t have one.”

Penny turned to look at Agatha. She was pointedly staring at the crowd ahead of them, reminding Penny of what their main focus needed to be at that moment.

Still. Agatha had just told her she didn’t have a soulmate. Penny couldn’t merely brush off a statement like that and go back to looking for their friend.

“Oh,” she said. She instantly wanted to slap a hand over her mouth. _‘Oh?’_ She’d given the best graduation speech in all of Watford's history, and now one of her best friends told her she didn’t have a soulmate, and all Penny could think to say was, _‘Oh?’_ She wasn’t Simon. Penny was supposed to be good with words.

“Yeah,” Agatha said, seemingly also at a loss.

“So,” Penny said, angling another look at her, “you can really see every color?”

“Every one of them.”

“Wow,” Penny said. “That is so cool.”

Agatha frowned. “‘Cool?’” she repeated, looking terribly confused.

“Well, yeah,” Penny said. “Do you know how much I hate waiting on some stupid boy, just so I can finally see the color brown? But here you are, and you’ve been able to see all the colors since you were born. I’d say that’s a really freakin’ cool ability!”

This time, Agatha was the one who said, “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” Penny said. “Did I say something wrong?” She wasn’t always the best with social cues. She knew soulmates could be a touchy subject for some people, and she didn’t want to offend Agatha. She and Simon were only visiting her in California for the weekend, and after they left, she didn’t know how much time might pass before she saw Agatha again. She didn’t want to leave with Agatha mad at her.

“No,” Agatha said. Penny was surprised to see she was smiling. “I just never thought of the whole no-soulmate-thing that way before. I never thought of it as cool. A lot of the time, I feel like maybe I’m missing out.”

“Just the opposite,” Penny promised. “You’re really quite exceptional, Agatha.”

“I’m aromantic,” Agatha blurted. Her eyes shined as she looked at Penny, like she was holding back tears. Penny had never seen her so emotional. “So, I’m never going to have a boyfriend or anything, either. Just so you know.”

Did… Did Agatha just come out to her?

Penny came to an immediate stop. Once again, Agatha wouldn’t look at her. She looked like she regretted telling Penny. Did she? Penny didn’t want her to regret telling her.

Penny took one of her hands and squeezed it in her own. Finally, Agatha looked back at her with those shining blue eyes of hers. Penny spoke out one word, hoping it encapsulated everything she wanted to convey. “Brilliant.”

Another smile rose on Agatha’s lips; nervous and unsure, but still there. “Really?”

“Really. I’m glad you told me.”

“Don’t tell Simon.”

Penny faltered. “Why not?”

“You know how he is. He’s so desperate to find his soulmate and live happily ever after. He wants the white picket fence and the big white wedding and two and a half children.” Agatha twirled a strand of hair through her fingers, looking nervous. “To him, true love and happiness go hand in hand. I don’t know if he could ever understand that, for someone like me, romantic love and a happy life are mutually exclusive. I could never be happy with a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or a partner.”

“I won’t tell him,” Penny promised. “But I think he might respond differently than you think. Simon may not understand why I love school so much, but he always accepts when I cancel our plans because I need to study. He’s the most supportive person I know.”

“No offense, Penny, but my romantic orientation is a harder pill to swallow than your love for school. I’m still getting comfortable with myself. I need people to understand that I’m aromantic, and I’m going to be happy without romantic love in my life: people who think my orientation is… really freakin’ cool,” she said, echoing Penny’s earlier statement. “Like you.”

“I understand,” Penny said. “But Simon -- SIMON!”

Simon was currently walking towards them, three bags of cotton candy in hand. “Hey guys,” he said. “I bought extra, in case you wanted any. If not, I’m happy to eat all three bags by myself.” He popped a strand of purple cotton candy into his mouth. “Anyway, what did I miss?”

“Nothing,” the two of them said at once.

Simon gave them a look of confusion, but he didn’t push for any explanations.

Penny knew Agatha would tell him the truth one day. But right now, she needed some time to get comfortable with herself. Penny understood.

In the meantime, maybe Simon would learn that you don’t necessarily need romantic love to be happy. Maybe he would never find his soulmate, or maybe once he found her, he’d find out she never wanted to get married or have kids. Maybe they’d get married without having kids, or have kids without getting married. Maybe they’d live in an apartment in the city instead of a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence.

Who knew what might happen? There were so many ways to love and be loved. There were so many different ways to find happiness. But standing with her friends at that fair, eating cotton candy and bemoaning the unfairness of carnival games, Penny knew one thing for sure: no matter what, Simon and Agatha would be happy.

She would make sure they were.

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings:  
Mentions of fighting  
Mentions of food/eating  
Mentions of crowds  
Mentions of kidnapping 
> 
> Also be mindful of the tags! This story does include some implied/referenced arophobia. Also some heteronormativity.


End file.
